I Don't
by keep-me-posted
Summary: Calhoun has turned down Felix's marriage proposal and Ralph is the first to know about it.
1. Final Answer

**A/N**: Okay, so I've looked over this story about a million times, trying to make it perfect. But perfect doesn't exist, so I'm just going to post it. Apologies if anyone seems too OOC. Especially Ralph, since this is my first time writing him. My first chapter story in a while, too, so let's hope it doesn't turn out so bad. Thanks so much for reading! :]

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Wreck-It Ralph or any of its characters.

* * *

"_I really shouldn't have come out to Tapper's tonight,_" Ralph thought, looking around the tavern, a cold root beer glass in his hand.

The place was surprisingly busy, considering it was a Monday night and mostly everyone there had to be up and ready to play in just a few hours. Vanellope was supposed to meet him there, but now that she was president, she sometimes showed up late to their little get-togethers.

After waiting for about a half hour, Ralph assumed she might have forgot, and decided to head over to meet her at Sugar Rush instead. He gulped down his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. But just as he was about to get up, he noticed Sergeant Calhoun not too far away, chortling at something one of her cadets just said.

At least, he figured it was one of her cadets. Since Calhoun and Felix had been dating, Ralph had gotten used to seeing the sergeant outside her usual attire, but as far as he was concerned, the people she worked with were nothing more than just big, black, metallic gorillas.

Unfortunately, Calhoun managed to easily spot Ralph and strode over. "Wreck-it," She greeted, slapping a hand at his back. "How's it going?"

"Evening, Sergeant."

She laughed. "Please, call me Tamora."

"I'd really rather not."

She laughed again. A little too loudly and a little too long. It was no surprise that Calhoun liked to occasionally drink. Though, ever since she and Felix got together, she never really drank more than a glass or two. And despite her size, she could hold a good amount of liquor without it leaving any side effect, besides a slight slur on her tongue.

So Ralph found it strange as he watched her throw her head back and take another swig of her beer, ending it with a rather bubbly hiccup. Obviously, she was drunk. He could tell by the way she was leaning over the table, trying desperately to keep her balance on the stool she sat on.

The wrecker didn't take this as a good sign. Usually when she was at all close to even being slightly tipsy, Felix would cut in and let her drown...whatever it was that was bothering her into him, rather than a bottle. Something was definitely wrong. Or maybe he was just over-thinking things. After all, he didn't know the sergeant that well yet.

"Ralph," Calhoun started, looking down at her nearly, but definitely not first, empty bottle. He tried not to notice that, for the first time since they met, she had just called him by his actual first name.

"Ralph," She repeated. Unknowingly, he was sure. She seemed a little distant, distracted, but that could have just been an after effect from all the alcohol. "You and Felix are close, right?"

He blinked. "Y-yeah. Felix is one of my best friends."

"Good," She nodded a bit too roughly. "I'm glad to hear that." She patted the wrecker's back again, attempting to put her arm around his shoulder.

If it wasn't obvious before, it was clear how uncomfortable Ralph was now. He kept hoping Vanellope would pop out of no where and save him from this conversation, but at the same time he knew he didn't want her seeing Calhoun like this, since she really did seem to idolize the older woman.

"So," She continued, her words slowly seeming to sober up. "I'm sure you know that Felix proposed to me a couple days ago."

Ralph's eyebrows went up into his hair. He actually did _not_ know that. While the handyman had been talking about proposing to Calhoun for weeks now, Ralph was unaware that he had actually gone and done it. And the fact that he didn't know unnerved him a little.

Calhoun paused. If not for her hands fiddling with her bottle, he would have assumed she passed out.

Ralph cleared his throat. "Did you say..yes?"

She turned to him, her slightly glazed eyes glaring at him. "I told him I had to think about it."

That did not sound like something Felix took well. "What's there to think about?"

She didn't answer him. Ralph couldn't really tell if she was ignoring him or simply didn't hear him. Then, taking the beer out of her hand for the first time since she stepped over to him, Calhoun reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a gold band.

"But seeing how you're such good friends with Felix, I thought you could tell him for me."

She folded her hands over each other, left hand on top, holding the ring between her thumb and forefinger. Ralph blinked as realization hit. Oh gosh, she was going to accept Felix's proposal _now_, _drunk_, in front of _him_! He couldn't decide if this was the greatest or most awkward thing he'd ever experienced.

She dropped the ring onto the table. "My answer is no."

Ralph stood there in shock, his mouth wide open, but unable to form words. The ring continued to spin on its side, like a quarter, until Ralph slapped his hand down over it.

When he finally looked up, hoping to talk some sense into Calhoun and what she'd just decided, he noticed she was not only gone from the table, but gone from the entire game.

Picking up the ring in his large fingers, Ralph sighed. "Yep, definitely should not have come out tonight."


	2. Nervous Wreck

**A/N**: Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Unfortunately, due to some of the comments I got back, I now feel that my story isn't as good as it could be and might leave some of you disappointed, so even though I intended this story to be done in advance (because I'm really bad at finishing/updating chapter stories), I've decided to change it up, just a bit.

Anywho, I only fixed this chapter up slightly to work alongside my improved story plot, so if it seems a little messy, that's why. Also, this is my first time writing Vanellope, but certainly not my last! She's definitely going to be the comic relief to this story. Her and Ralph both; they're just so fun together. :3

* * *

Ralph frantically walked through Game Central Station, both heading for, and trying to avoid his game. The arcade would be opening soon, so he didn't really have a choice, but he still couldn't help considering playing hooky from work today.

_No. She said no! How could she say no?_ Ralph considered heading to Hero's Duty just to make sure he had heard her correctly. She ought to have sobered up by now. Or at least, he'd hope so, seeing how she had to be up and ready to start destroying cy-bugs any minute now.

When he was halfway to the game's entrance, however, he stalled. _No._ There was a reason why Calhoun was at Tapper's last night. There was a reason she had gotten herself so drunk she could barely stand upright. She had planned on seeing Felix and giving him the news. That's why she was so eager to catch Ralph before he could leave. Of course it would be easier to tell _him_ rather than Felix.

_But why?_ Ralph wondered, returning back to his game. As far as he could tell, Calhoun and Felix were perfect for each other. So perfect to a point where you could only stand being with them for so long before you got sick over all the cuteness.

She obviously didn't like the idea of saying no. That's why she had been drunk. Because saying no to Felix is an almost impossible task, especially sober. So, she didn't want to say no. But she still said no. And he still had to _tell_ Felix she said no.

By now Ralph was back in Fix-it Felix Jr. He lifted the ring to his eye, glaring at the shining gold, tiny diamonds specked around the edges. Then he noticed it. An engraving written on the inside edge. _Really, Felix?_ He groaned, squinting his eyes to make out the tiny words.

"To my...dynamite gal," He read aloud.

"Who's that?" A voice snorted.

Ralph looked down, relief washing his features. "Vanellope, thank Nintendo!"

"Where've you been?" She insisted, climbing on his shoulders. "I waited all night for you!"

"I got a little dis..." Ralph stopped short. "Wait, what? No, no. _I _waited all night for _you_!"

"Yeah, right! I waited by my game for two whole hours," She held up two fingers in his face to emphasize the time.

He pushed them away. "That's because we were supposed to meet at Tapper's."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yes huh!"

"NUH UH!"

"YES HUH!"

Vanellope sighed, clearly exasperated, then spotted the ring in Ralph's hand. "What's that?"

"What?" He quickly hid it. "Nothing."

She smirked and glitched herself behind his back and then appeared back in front of him, ring in hand. She studied it. "A ring?"

"An engagement ring," Ralph corrected, mentally slapping himself when Vanellope's eyes widened.

"Ralph, you sly dog!" She cackled. "Who's the _un_lucky girl?"

"It's not mine," Ralph said, attempting to nab the ring back. But every move he made, Vanellope just quickly glitched in the other direction.

"Oh yeah?" She edged, waggling the ring in front of him. "Who's is it then?"

"It's Calhoun's," Ralph growled, plopping onto the dirt in another failed attempt to capture the ring.

Vanellope's jaw dropped. "_Calhoun_?"

The wrecker's eyes went wide, realizing how that came out. "No, no, no!" He waved his hands crazily. "The ring is Felix's. _For_ Calhoun."

"Ohhh," Vanellope said, looking down at the ring. Then her head shot up, a grin on her face. She glitched uncontrollably from excitement. "So they're getting married? When's the wedding? Am I gonna have to be a flower girl?"

"There's not gonna be a wedding!" Ralph exclaimed a little too loudly.

Vanellope's hyper-active glitching stopped, giving Ralph a chance to take the ring back. "What do you mean?"

"Calhoun said no."

The little girl considered this. She looked up, confusion clouding her features. "But why?"

"I don't know that yet," He said.

"Yet?"

"I plan out finding out later today."

"Does Felix know?" Vanellope whispered behind her hand.

"No," Ralph shook his head. "That's why you're going to have to take this." He placed the ring in her small palm and closed her fingers around it.

She opened her hand for a moment to look down at the ring, then shot up at the sound of bouncing. They both looked up at Felix who was strolling towards them.

She closed her hand again, then turned to whisper to her friend. "Are you going to tell him?"

Ralph considered this. Tell Felix bad news? He wasn't even sure how to go about that. "Hopefully I won't need to," He replied quietly. "I'll visit Hero's Duty later today and get this all straightened out without telling him a word."

"You mean _we'll_ visit Hero's Duty," She countered. "I'm not holding onto this ring for nothing!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He muttered, pushing Vanellope towards the exit. Felix was getting way too close and started to notice their obvious whisperings. "See you tonight, President Sugarbreath!"

"Adios, Stinkbrain!" She saluted.

"Hey, Ralph!" Felix waved when he finally caught up the the wrecker. "Bye, Vanellope!"

She waved over her back, still skipping away.

"Everything alright there, brother?"

Ralph peeled his eyes away from the exit, unaware that he'd been staring Vanellope – and more importantly, the ring – down like a hawk. He chuckled uncomfortably. "Who, me? Yeah, I-I'm fine." He coughed into his hand.

Felix raised an eyebrow, but Ralph spoke up again, before giving the handyman a chance to ask what was going on. "What about you, Felix? How are you doing?" He slapped his back lightly as he could.

"Oh, I'm just dandy," He attempted to smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is something...wrong?"

"It's nothing," He admitted. "I was just supposed to meet Tamora at Tapper's last night, but she never showed up."

Ralph blinked. "Uhh..."

"I mean, to be fair, I _was_ a little late," He continued, fiddling with his gloves. "But we've both had our share of missing dates due to our busy game schedule, and she _did_ say it was important, so I figured it'd be okay, you know?"

The wrecker paused, then shot up. "Did you hear that?"

"W-what?"

"It sounded like a quarter alert!" He lied, pushing Felix towards the right side of the game. "Better get ready!"

"But I didn't hear any-"

"We'll talk later!" Ralph called from his side of the game. Thankfully, before Felix could question his strange behavior, Mr. Litwak opened the arcade and a group of three little boys headed over to play their game.

When the real quarter alert activated, he looked over at Felix and gave him a thumbs up, a routine the two had started after the whole Sugar Rush cy-bug incident. Felix tipped his hat in return, as usual, though his face was still colored in confusion.

Ralph walked forward getting into position. He closed his eyes and breathed out, before his title catchphrase popped above his head. _It was gonna be a long day._


	3. Lost and Found

**A/N**: Kay, so here's the extended version of my original idea for chapter 3. I didn't want to keep it before, merely because it took the main focus off of Calhoun and Felix, who the story is _supposed_ to be revolving around, but like I said, I just love writing Vanellope, so. Plus, you should enjoy the funnies while you can, since we're coming up to sad, possibly boring chapters, soon.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! Means a lot. :]

* * *

"So, what's the story?" Vanellope asked, chewing on the end of her straw.

Ralph sighed. It had been a long day. Due to his mind being elsewhere, he just wasn't in the game today, as it were. At least two dozen kids had played their game today and at least two dozen had made it to levels way beyond their actual range, since Ralph often found himself mulling over his current predicament instead of bulldozing down bricks like he was supposed to.

Having noticed his stranger behavior early on, Felix had planned on asking him what was going on as soon as the arcade closed, but having planned an escape route for the past several hours, Ralph managed to quickly shoot out of there and head right for Tapper's.

"While I was here last night," He started, rolling his root beer glass between his hands. "Calhoun came over to me..." He stopped. "Well, she was...a little, I guess you could say, er...under the influence."

"You mean drunk?"

Ralph blinked.

"Oh, _please_, Ralph!" Vanellope laughed. "You take me to Tapper's every night and you don't think I know what drunk is?"

"I didn't say that," He said, a bit defensively. "I just wasn't sure if you knew Calhoun drank."

She snorted. "Right, 'cuz that's a real surprise."

He rolled his eyes.

"So," The little girl edged. "She came over to you, _drunk_, and..?"

"Then she tossed me the ring and told me she said no."

"Huh," She said, taking another loud sip of her drink. Obviously she was expecting something more interesting. She played with her straw a few minutes longer when a thought hit her. "Wait," She put her hands up in front of her. "If she never said yes, why did she even have the ring in the first place?"

"I don't know," Ralph shrugged. "It must have been pretty hard on Felix, though, to not even tell me."

"Or me!"

"Where is the ring, anyway?"

Vanellope shoved her hand into her hoodie, then pulled it out with a "Yoink!"

Ralph stared. "Well?"

She looked at her hand for a moment before realizing it was empty. "Huh, that's weird. I could of sworn I had it."

"You _lost_ the ring!?"

"I didn't say that, Booger Breath!" Vanellope yelled back defensively, checking various other parts of her outfit.

"Then where is it?" Ralph was trying his very best not to freak out, but it was kinda difficult considering the circumstances. He still wasn't exactly sure how he was going to straighten out this whole mess, but he was pretty sure he needed the ring to do it.

He tried to keep his hands occupied while Vanellope continued her search. Usually when he got this worked up, he felt the need to break something, and now was neither the time, nor the place.

"Well?"

"I must have left it back at the castle," She shrugged, slurping her root beer again.

Ralph stood up. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"What?" She paused. "Now?"

"Why _not _now?"

"Well, I'm still finishing my drink and..."

The wrecker gave her a stern look that she could have easily talked her way out of, but she was feeling pretty lazy tonight. "Fine," She sighed, setting her glass down, and glitching down from her stool.

Ralph nodded a thanks, as Vanellope climbed onto his shoulder. "You know, this is kinda your fault for giving me the stupid ring in the first place."

"Let's not even go there."

* * *

"So, where is it?" Ralph asked as soon as they entered the gates of Vanellope's castle.

"Does it look like I have tracking device or something?"

"Just retrace your steps," He suggested. "Where's the last place you had it?"

"If I knew that, it wouldn't be lost, ga-doy!"

"Well, where's the last place you remember seeing it?"

"My hoodie, but it's not there, so-"

"So what?" Ralph insisted. "Did it fall out? Was it stolen? Did it transform itself into pocket lint?"

Vanellope paused for a moment, her glitch slightly flickering. "You're really starting to freak me out, Ralph. You sure that ring wasn't yours?" She cackled.

"No," He answered, though the question was clearly a joke. "I'm freaking out _because_ the ring isn't mine, and I'm going to have to return it to either Calhoun or Felix, one way or another."

"Calm down, Worry Wart, we'll find the ring," She said, sifting through a toy box located near her throne. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Yes, but did you forget?" Ralph stated. "You live in a _castle_. Do you know how big castles are?"

"It's not like I took the ring into every room."

"No?"

"Nah," She waved off the problem with her hand. "Just the throne room, my bedroom, the kitchen, the garage, the dining hall, and the backyard."

Ralph twitched. "Great."

"Hey, look, there's Bill!" Vanellope spotted her sour assistant and waved him over. "Hey, Billy Boy!"

He bowed, causing Vanellope to giggle. "Billy, you haven't by any chance seen a ring around here, have you?"

"Ring?"

"Yes, an engagement ring, about this big," She put together her index finger and thumb to shape a small hole.

"_Engagement_ ring?" Bill's eyebrows slightly rose and his tone changed to something that sounded like surprise.

"Yeah," She noted his expression and laughed. "It's not mine, silly."

Sour Bill dared a glance at Ralph.

"No no," He insisted, waving his big hands. "Not mine either."

Vanellope snorted.

"Look, it doesn't matter who it belongs to," The wrecker went on. "The point is, we need it. Now."

He shook his head in the most apologetic way he could muster. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen it."

Ralph groaned. "Are you sure, Bill? I know it wouldn't be easy to see, but it was small, a-and gold, with little dia-"

"I know what a ring looks like."

"I know," He returned with the same sourness Bill had just given him. "But I'm trying to explain to you what _this_ ring looks like."

"Hey, Ralph!" Vanellope called then, breaking the stare down between her best friend and assistant.

"Not now, kid."

"But I found it!"

"What?" He blinked and turned towards her. She waved the ring in the air defiantly. He grabbed it, then looked at her. "Where?"

"In my hoodie," She pointed to the pocket at her stomach, then shrugged. "I guess I just didn't look hard enough before."

Ralph glared.

"What?" Vanellope questioned. "I told you the last place I had it was my hoodie. _You_ were the one that wanted to go traipsing off to Sugar Rush!"

He rolled his eyes and stuck the ring into the front pocket of his overalls, where he should have kept it in the first place. "Time to go."

The little girl squealed, always excited about the rare occasions she got to visit Hero's Duty, and glitched onto her giant friend's shoulder.

"You two make a lovely couple," Bill drawled, as they exited the castle.

"Not funny, Bill."


	4. I'm Gonna Fix It

**A/N**: Look, I'm actually continuing! Wow, almost a month since my last post. :X Sorry for the wait. I'm gonna be honest, I should have never started this chapter story. I'm just not good at chapter stories and I never will be. Anyways, I hope this chapter is okay. Next chapter should be better. Thanks so much for reading! Comments make me a better writer (hopefully). :]

* * *

"Good job, everyone!" Calhoun announced. Every night after Litwak closed the arcade, Calhoun made a new habit of keeping all her soldiers around at least a half hour longer, to make sure all the bugs were truly dead and gone.

Some of the recruits would often complain, but after the Sugar Rush fiasco several months ago, even they knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

As she was putting one of her guns away in the nearest black bin, Kohut came over and patted her on the back. "Great day today, sarge."

She managed a smile. Normally she wasn't comfortable with touching of any kind, especially from her cadets, but ever since she had started dating Felix, she eased up a bit. She was still as tough as nails, especially during game play, but there was no denying she softened when the 8-bit man came into her life.

"You weren't so bad yourself, Kohut," She replied, straightening up to give him a proper nod of approval.

"Some of the guys and I were heading off to Tapper's," He said, jerking a thumb at the game's exit. "Care to join?"

Calhoun hesitated a moment. "No thanks." She paused, forcing her emotions down as they threatened to bubble to the surface. "I'm still a bit hungover from last night," She joked.

Kohut and a few other soldiers who had joined them laughed. Being her right hand man on the battlefield, Kohut knew when something was bothering her, but he also knew, even if there was, to never _ever_ bring it up. So, with an honorable salute, he left the sergeant and headed off to the bar.

Calhoun didn't bother moving from the bin. She debated taking out her gun again and shooting at some cy-bug eggs just for the heck of it. But she knew the risk of putting her life, as well as the life of others, in danger to simply blow off some steam just wasn't the answer.

A few moments later, she heard heavy footsteps. She sighed. "Look, Kohut, I know you mean well, but I really don't want to talk-" She cut herself off when she turned around and noticed who had really entered the game. "Wreck-It!" She said, surprised. Her eyes shifted gaze to his shoulder. She nodded a hello. "Van."

"Hello, Sergeant," The little girl hopped off Ralph's back and saluted.

Calhoun bent down to her level to give her a high five. "Behead anyone today, Miss President?" She teased.

"I wish," She smirked. "But I did manage to win over 25 races!"

"Nice," She grinned, rising back at. She looked at Ralph, hands on hips. "So, what brings you two to Hero's Duty?" She asked conversationally, as she casually led them closer to the exit. She didn't like anyone being any further in this game than they had to.

Ralph exchanged a look with Vanellope. "Oh, we just wanted to, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Just how was he supposed to bring this up?

"Why don't you want to marry Felix?" The young racer blurted.

Taken aback, Calhoun's cheeks flushed furiously, unsure if she had heard her correctly. "W-what?"

"Don't you love him?"

The sergeant ignored her questions and towered over Ralph, suddenly furious. "Wreck-It, what is this about?"

"It's about..." He looked around to see if any of her men were within earshot, before noting that most of them were gone. "What we talked about last night."

The color from Calhoun's face drained and she too dared a glance around the battlefield. "Talk? W-we never talked."

Ralph blinked, obviously not expecting that response. "Yes, we did. At Tapper's. Last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Wreck-It," She said, turning around to head to her cabin. "I was here all last night."

He frowned. "No, you were at Tapper's and you gave me your-"

"I said I don't know what you're talking about," She bellowed. She turned on them, glaring over her shoulder before sprinting away leaving both Ralph and Vanellope in a daze.

"She doesn't remember."

"No, she remembers all right," The wrecker noted. "She just doesn't want to."

"What the gumdrops does that even mean?"

"Uh, nothing," He replied, distracted. "Grown up stuff."

"Why are people always saying that to me?" She grumbled. "I may be programmed to be only 9 years old, but I've been plugged in since _1997_, which means I have the wisdom of a 16 year old!"

Ralph smirked, unconvinced.

Vanellope huffed, glitching onto his shoulder. "So, what now?"

Ralph considered this while looking down at the ring he had pulled from his pocket. He glanced up to where Calhoun had just sprinted off to, then back to the ring. He squeezed his eyes shut, obviously annoyed. He'd had just about enough of this nonsense.

"_I'm_ going to straighten this out," He replied.

Vanellope didn't miss the pronoun. "Uh, don't you mean _we_?"

"No," He said, pulling her off his shoulder and placing her on the ground. "Just me."

"Aw, come on, Ralph," She whined. "Why can't I come? And don't you say anything about grown up stuff!"

"It's complicated."

"That's even worse!"

He tucked the ring back into his overalls. "I promise I'll have this all figured out as soon as possible." He pushed her towards the game's exit. "We'll meet later at Tapper's."

"But Ralph..!"

"Promise me you will go straight to your game and wait for me, alright?"

"But-"

"Promise?"

She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "I promise," She said, with slight mock in her tone.

He grinned, mussing up her hair. "Be good, kid."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," She muttered, a small smile spreading on her own face. "Now go fix a sergeant!"

* * *

Ralph headed further into Hero's Duty, not really sure where he was going, trying to guess which directions Calhoun had just taken moments earlier.

When Ralph had made it to the living quarters part of the game, he was relieved to find that Calhoun's cabin was easy to find, being slightly larger than the rest, with her name plate on the door frame.

Knowing full well she wouldn't answer the door if he knocked, he just stepped inside. Though the cabin was bigger, it wasn't exactly a house, so he spotted Calhoun right away.

Her back was turned, but it was obvious she knew he was there by the way her shoulders tensed at his arrival.

Breathing out, Ralph spoke the one thing he'd been thinking the entire time. "He'll be back, you know."

She paused for only a moment. "Not if he knows what's good for him, he won't."

"Well, I think it's safe to say he _doesn't_ know what's good for him," Ralph returned, obviously annoyed. "That is why he fell for you in the first place, isn't it?"

Swiftly, Calhoun spun around and gave the wrecker a deadly glare from behind her bangs. Ralph didn't mean it, of course. But she was so used to insulting that he figured it would be something she would immediately interact on. And he was right.

She stomped forward, but Ralph held his ground. "Look here, Wreck-It-!"

"No," He interrupted. He lifted the ring out of the small pocket at the front of his overalls and held it close to her face.

Millions of emotions washed over her face within moments of each other. Surprise, guilt, annoyance, anger..! She was already well aware that Ralph had informed Vanellope of this whole thing, but she didn't even consider the idea that he _hadn't_ told Felix yet.

"I couldn't do it."

"Mod damn it, Wreck-It!" She growled, stomping her boot. "I gave you _one_ job-!"

"Yeah," He interrupted again. "_Your_ job. I mean, it's bad enough that you're going to break Felix's heart, but to have _me_ do the dirty work for you?"

"It's for the best," She insisted. "He'll understand."

"Will he?"

"Eventually." Calhoun straightened up, and turned back to what she had been working on before he walked in, which as far as Ralph could tell was mulling over some useless map.

"Is it because of Brad?"

The sergeant tensed at his words. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder. Her voice was barely over a whisper. "What do you know about him?"

"Not much," He admitted. "Besides that he died right before you were going to marry him."

She'd dealt with the nightmares and flashbacks for so long that the thought of Brad almost became numb, but hearing such a straightforward response to the tragedy seemed to shoot daggers at her heart. "And?" She asked, squeezing her eyes shut to ready more pain.

Ralph shrugged. "That's it. Felix isn't exactly the gossiping type, you know."

Relief washed over her. She respected Felix for that. Keeping her private life private. Though, to be fair, she hadn't really told him all there was to know about Brad in the first place. She was thankful for the next words she could say.

"Then you have no right to judge my decision."

There was silence. At first Calhoun actually thought Ralph might have left, but she knew no matter how quiet he was, she'd still hear his heavy footfalls as he exited.

"I may not know about your past," He said, his voice firm. "But I've seen your present, and I know I've never seen anyone half as happy as you are with Felix."

She didn't dare speak a word. They stood like that in silence for a while. When she was sure he was finally gone, she released a shaky breath. She turned around and right away spotted Felix's ring on the side table. Ralph had obviously left it there to make her feel even more guilty, if possible.

Calhoun picked up the ring, quickly eying the small encryption on the inside. Words that only further dictated her choice just a couple days earlier. She sighed, setting the ring back. Though she was happy Ralph had finally gone and left her alone, she knew better than to assume this situation was anything but over.


End file.
